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USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Sam Presti tells 2 stories about Jaylin Williams' personality: 'He's a source of energy'
As the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrated their 2025 NBA championship in their parade, Jaylin Williams was one of the highlights of the event. He made it worth it for the thousands of folks who battled through the high heat by voicing an epic WWE-esque speech that made Stone Cold Steve Austin smile. The Thunder rewarded Williams for his development with a three-year, $24 million contract extension a week later. For outsiders, to see somebody who only played 14 minutes in the NBA Finals was a little puzzling. But anybody who followed the NBA champion understands his value. Sam Presti told two stories in his 2024-25 end-of-season press conference about Williams. You usually don't get such in-depth answers about a team's third-string center, but the 23-year-old's affectionate personality refuses to pigeonhole him in such a micro-role. The first involved a morning shootaround. The Thunder were set to face the Philadelphia 76ers. They typically hold their shootarounds at the opposition's arena when on the road. That meant they went to Wells Fargo Center a few hours before tip. Presti noted that Williams kept the mood upbeat. He fought against the elements as the indoor temperature rivaled the outside. Which is quite a statement considering how cold it can get in Philly. He helped his teammates forget about the freezing temperature. "I just think he's a unique guy," Presti said about Williams. "He's a source of energy." The other story was the one that stuck out to most. Presti wind the clock back to November. After suffering a hip fracture that cost him three months, Chet Holmgren slammed his hand in frustration and pain. As most know, the 23-year-old took a while to get up. Once you realized Holmgren couldn't get off the floor without help, everybody in the arena went as quiet as a funeral. The lasting image of the seven-footer's injury was being helped off the floor by Isaiah Hartenstein and Williams. In a sick twist of irony, they were both also out dealing with their own injuries. Hartenstein with a hand fracture and Williams with a hamstring strain. While the public saw the beginnings of that group's time together, Presti revealed more details on how Hartenstein and Williams stayed by Holmgren's side inside the tunnels and away from the cameras during another career low point. "In all my years doing this, I've never, ever seen a player in that much pain. I mean, it was really tough. Hart and J-Will stayed with him the whole time in the back, and it was uncomfortable," Presti said. "It was uncomfortable because when someone is in that much pain, it's hard to be a bystander." Presti said Holmgren couldn't even sit down properly because of the amount of pain he was in. A hip fracture is about as bad as it gets. Any 9th-grade biology class will teach that to you. Hartenstein and Williams stayed by his side until he eventually left the arena to go to the hospital. "Those guys were both injured at the time. It was the greatest act of team support and teammate support I had ever seen. I don't know that it will ever be matched," Presti said. "They sat with him. They supported him." Despite a shakiness in his role, Williams remains a positive force on the Thunder. Those are the type of intangibles you can't see. As cheesy as it might be to outsiders, the 23-year-old's warm energy helped OKC win off the court, too.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
OKC Thunder wills its way to Game 4 win vs Pacers, evens NBA Finals
INDIANAPOLIS — Tyrese Haliburton waived his towel in excitement late in the third quarter. Pat McAfee gave his WWE-esque monologue early in the fourth quarter. And the crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse fed into all of it, as it celebrated what looked to be an Indiana win in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Advertisement Then OKC crashed the party. The Thunder escaped with a 111-104 road win to tie the series at 2-2. OKC outscored Indiana 31-17 in the fourth quarter, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 of his team's last 16 points. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points and three rebounds. Jalen Williams also recorded 27 points and seven rebounds, and Chet Holmgren posted a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Here are four more takeaways from the game: More: NBA Finals Game 4 box score, stats: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder tie series vs Pacers Indiana targeted Isaiah Hartenstein early and often in his first Finals start Isaiah Hartenstein shuffled his feet inside the paint as he saw the play unfold. Advertisement He knew what was coming his way. It was a pick and roll by Indiana, which set its sights on attacking the 7-foot center midway through the first quarter. Hartenstein could read the play with ease, but stopping it wasn't so simple. Obi Toppin's screen forced Hartenstein to switch onto Andrew Nembhard, who quickly gave the ball back to Toppin for an open floater that found the bottom of the net. The Thunder opted to start Hartenstein over Cason Wallace on Friday with a plan to give its first unit some more size. But for the Pacers, it gave them a bigger target. Indiana repeatedly placed Hartenstein in the pick and roll and found success more times than not. He ended the night with two points and six rebounds in 21 minutes, and he posted a team-worst plus-minus of negative-7. Advertisement More: How 2025 NBA Finals became Canadian showcase with OKC's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, others Jalen Williams stepped up as a shot creator Muscle memory kicked in once Williams caught a pass on the wing late in the second quarter. His first instinct was to swing the ball to Gilgeous-Alexander, the league's Most Valuable Player and scoring champion. But Williams stopped himself from doing that once he realized his superstar teammate was being smothered by Nembhard. That's when a different instinct kicked in — a killer instinct. Williams dribbled the ball between his legs twice before he used a crossover to blow past Toppin. He then sank a scoop layup at the rim. Advertisement On a night when Nembhard was stuck to Gilgeous-Alexander like Canadian maple syrup, Williams got OKC out of numerous sticky situations. Williams stepped up as a shot creator, and he bought Gilgeous-Alexander time to find his rhythm when it mattered the most down the stretch. The Jalen Williams Way How OKC Thunder forward paved a path to stardom, NBA Finals INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JUNE 13: Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers defends a shot from Jalen Williams #8 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter in Game Four of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 13, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Alex Caruso helped OKC will its way to a win Alex Caruso goes from the most beloved man to the most berated man, depending on which crowd he's playing in front of. For every ounce of love he receives from the Thunder fans at Paycom Center, he receives an equal amount of hate from Pacers fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Advertisement But the only consistent passion is the one he plays with. With OKC on the verge of falling into a 3-1 series hole, Caruso helped his team claw its way out. The veteran guard finished with 20 points and five steals in 30 minutes off the bench. CARLSON: NBA Finals being altered by 'self-made guys' Alex Caruso, T.J. McConnell OKC is back in the driver's seat of this wild ride of an NBA Finals OKC didn't just steal a Game 4 win. It stole the momentum of the Finals. The series is now tied at 2-2, and the Thunder will host two of the final three games. OKC is 9-2 at home this postseason. Game 5 is set for 7:30 p.m. CT Monday in Oklahoma City (ABC). Advertisement More: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has brushed past legacy. NBA Finals will put him in elite company. Justin Martinez covers sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@ or on X/Twitter at @JTheSportsDude. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder wills its way to Game 4 win over Pacers, evens NBA Finals
The Guardian
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Lost Tiger review – a big-hearted Australian kids' film with unexpected heft
Animated productions in which talking animals trot off on great big adventures and learn Important Life Lessons are a dime a dozen, but The Lost Tiger is a little different to standard fare. It's the first Australian animated feature to be written and directed by an Indigenous woman, Bardi film-maker Chantelle Murray, who rolls out plenty of children's movie tropes but imbues the experience with some unexpected heft. Potentially cheesy subjects – like home and belonging – are unpacked without that terrible lecturing feel that makes you want to bolt for the exit and curse the day you decided to have children (kidding, kidding). There's nothing amazing about this movie but you can always feel it coming from a place of thought and care, even when it makes sharp plot turns and leans too hard on formula. After being abandoned as a joey, the eponymous Teo (voiced by Thomas Weatherall) is adopted by two kangaroos, Kara (Nakkiah Lui) and Red (Jimi Bani), who lead a wrestling troupe called 'Roomania'. Their WWE-esque show enables bursts of body-slamming spectacle, though the real excitement begins when Teo visits a museum and is identified by Plato (an elastic-voiced Rhys Darby), a bookish platypus, as one of the last remaining Thylacines. Sign up for our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Legend has it that a lost 'Tiger Island' inhabited by Thylacines exists. So of course Teo and Plato go looking for it, with two groups of anthropomorphised animals on their trail: Teo's worried family and a slightly irritating group of villains called the 'Adventurer's Guild', who are led by the scheming quoll Quinella (Celeste Barber). She's like the worst aspects of Indiana Jones but on steroids, matching Jones's 'it belongs in a museum' philosophy with an insatiable appetite for self-aggrandisement. Teo locates the island (and fellow Thylacines) surprisingly easily, and fairly early in the run time. Here he reconnects with his ancestry and family, including the elder Nana, who's fabulously voiced by Rahmah Binte Buyong – sounding wise, worldly, and eminently huggable. In one interestingly staged scene, Teo discovers what happened to his late mother. Like in Edgar Wright's horror movie Last Night in Soho, it's not quite a flashback, because, via the act of dreaming, Teo is transported through time, becoming a virtualised presence at the scene of his mum's death, unable to intervene in the cosmic order of things. The second half pivots into a story about colonial oppressors extracting natural resources against the wishes and interests of the custodians of the land, which of course contains ripe political metaphors. There's also that question of belonging: does Teo belong in the old world, which doesn't exist any more, or the new one, where he feels like an outsider? The emergence of this key theme reminded me of the poster tag-line for Stephen Page's Bangarra-performed dance movie Spear, which also explores notions of heritage and dual identity: 'A foot in each world. A heart in none.' But The Lost Tiger is a children's movie so, of course, Teo has a big heart in both, always appreciating his adopted family while being thrilled to learn more about where he comes from. When characters in animated movies deliver emotionally charged dialogue, it sometimes makes you want to dry retch; I'm still fighting off memories of Jacki Weaver's granny-like crocodile in Back to the Outback telling her animal brethren not to define themselves by 'the label on your cage' but, puh-lease, the one 'in your heart'. But the emotional moments in The Lost Tiger work out pretty well: in fact, lines such as 'this is your land, this is your country' register as genuinely profound. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion Sometimes, as if out of nowhere, bursts of colour and razzmatazz come on like claps of thunder, ticking the box marked 'visual stimulus' – but mostly this film is quite evenly tempered, Murray letting individual moments breathe. The Lost Tiger is in Australian cinemas now
